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Here were some balloons, twisted into cool shapes down in Harvard Square a few weekends ago. I'm always impressed with balloon artists. I remember spending the better part of New Year's Eve one year trying to make a dog-shaped balloon, to little avail. I kept my day job.
If that doesn't make you think of leaves quickly dying, try this!
October - by Robert Frost
O HUSHED October morning mild, |
Today I went to watch part of the Head of the Charles rowing regatta. Here's a view from the Western Ave. bridge of some of the women's eight teams rowing toward Harvard and the finish line. At this point, they were approaching the narrow arches of the Harvard footbridge, which apparently causes a lot of accidents and crashes...
This was an unfortunate accident I saw take place between two of the rowing teams. I believe the Chinese team was in yellow and they ran into the back of the boat with the red shirted rowers. The red boat spun 90 degrees out and essentially fell out of the race, but the yellow rowers were able to correct themselves and keep moving. I'm not sure if there was a disqualification, but it was an exciting moment on the Charles!
Here is the top of the Pineapple Ginger cake shown cooking below. This illustrates the "upside-down" part. I am a huge fan of this recipe, although I hope to get the pineapples in better concentric circles next time so that the top of the cake looks more like a pinwheel.
Who ever heard of cake cooked in a frying pan? Here's a cake I tried out today - Pinapple Upside-Down Gingerbread Cake. I thought this side looked very edible, but this is actually the bottom of the cake. See above for the pineapple top side.
Here's a recipe I plan to make regularly. I tried it out this weekend for a Beer Fest party and it turned out so well I made it again the next day for us to eat at home. It goes down well with cheese (or beer), and it's a cinch!
EASY BEER BREAD
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 (12-oz) can (or bottle) beer (IPAs or stronger brews are most effective)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan. Combine all ingredients (at first with a fork, but you may need to mix by hand as the dough gets more solid - will still be sticky), and pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Once cooked, keep bread in ziplock bag for preserving moist texture of bread.
Dashboard of the car as we drove back on the Mass Pike tonight. These long exposure shots can be a lot of fun. I tried a few others of the road as well, but this was the coolest.
Jason bought these oysters in Massachusetts and we took them down to Connecticut for his dad's birthday. I hadn't had an oyster in a long time, but these were pretty tasty. I have trouble with the texture, though, so one was all I could manage. They're beautiful on ice!
Here is a dish made from very little. My parents used to make it a lot when we were kids - it's a German starch side pronounced [SHPEHT-sluh, SHPEHT-sehl, or SHPEHT-slee] (I prefer the latter). I did some research and it translates to mean, "little sparrow" - totally cute, although maybe a little unappetizing... It's very simple, made with flour, eggs, milk, and salt, and me without my spaetzle-maker, I used a collander instead to form the squiggly little dumpling-like noodles. I was in a hurry that night, so just added a spicy curry sauce (in a jar) to the little guys, and it came out very nice - and very spice. I just learned that it is also good second-day when fried up with butter and onions, though, so I'm sure I'll be using that tip often in the future. Nothing better than buttery onions.
Stacie was dying to take an unplanned stop at this old farmhouse, whose claim to fame is being on the estate where the Massachusetts State Police's horses are stabled. The old wooden windows head irregular heavy glass panes and those that were still there offered an impressive reflection!
An beat-up old old tire, deflated beside an old farmhouse, out near Harvard, MA. But you should see the other guy.
Today one of my good friends set up a foliage-viewing expedition off the Route 2; it was an excellent idea, I thought, to dedicate an entire day to hunting down and photographing foliage, and we definitely found it! This shot was taken at Walden Pond (actually in Walden Pond) right on the shoreline.
The waves gently rolling in at Walden Pond this morning. We were amazed to see people swimming this far into October, but when I dipped my finger in the water it was surprisingly warm! Even had I known this, I'm not sure I would have been the first in. I swear I saw a few folks in wetsuits in deeper waters...
This is my absolute favorite color to see in the leaves: reds, golds, mottled orange. I saw these lying in the freshly fallen rain this morning and couldn't resist taking a picture. A little sad to think that in one or two more weeks, they'll all be the color of dull rust again.
I was delighted to find this recipe (along with a series of memorable famous quotes) written up by my most enthusiastic college English professor. This guy sported a Rip Van Winkle beard, right down to the downy white point, and used to wear Chrismas tree lights in it during the holiday season. For essay reviews, we'd go over to his house and discuss our papers over homemade bread.
PROFESSOR RUBADEAU'S FRENCH-STYLE BREAD
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 tablespoons sugar
2 cups warm water (100-115 degrees)
1 tablespoon salt
5-6cups flour
1 egg mixed with 5-6 tbsp water (or olive oil)
Mix together the sugar, yeast, and water. Let proof 10 minutes. Add salt and flour in one cup at a time. When it's too stiff to mix, turn dough onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (this will take at least 10-15 minutes). Must be very sticky!
Let rise in a greased bowl until doubled. Punch down. Form on floured cutting board into two loaves about 12 inches long. Knead dough during the shaping process.
Slash the loaves diagonally about 1/2 - 3/4" deep every inch or so and paint with egg wash. Put the loaves on a greased cookie sheet and place it in a cold oven. Let rise 10 minutes. Then set the temperature at 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes. (Bake for 18 mins. and then check to make sure loaves have not grown together; if they have, split them with a knife.)
Okay, so while scavenging my kitchen cabinets tonight, I realized that I only had ingredients to make a few things. Jason doesn't like raisins (can you believe it?) so I opted for m&ms, sort of a welcome home treat since he's been traveling this week. I wasn't totally sure how it was going to turn out with the melted chocolate, and honestly I'm still not sure. We'll see what the jury says.
Okay, so maybe these subjects aren't some of my favorite things, but I liked the aesthetic of them all stacked up like this. Today, I spent lunch taking some pictures of books for a product catalog at work.
That's a little reference to a Travolta line from Pulp Fiction if you don't know the movie. "But bacon tastes goood, pork chops taste gooood," which is eventually followed by Samuel L. Jackson's: "Sewer-rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know, 'cause I'd never eat the filthy..." well, you know the rest. How did I get so off topic? Anyway, this meal was the closest I've gotten yet to roasting meats. It's amazingly easy to make and the mushroom/apple sauce I invented to go alongside wasn't bad either!
Here's a picture of Mieka Pauley playing in Harvard Square today. She's one of my favorite local musicians, and we lucked out by arriving off the T right as she was playing her set. The first time I saw her perform at the Burren in Davis Square, a guy on bagpipes burst into the room playing something entirely different, pacing the length of the room and right back out the door all in about 45 seconds. Everyone laughed and she rescued the song by picking right back up where she had left off.
Shoe sale at Harvard Square Oktoberfest. We got lucky with a beautifully hot day for this festival -people were shucking layers left and right. And lots of people there were. It made me wish I had participated and sold some of my artwork in the sunshine!
Here's the real thing! Ducks hanging out in the swan boat pond, appreciating the lull from the summer tourist season! They came courageously close to we humans onshore.
Here's one of the ducklings at the Make Way for the Ducklings portion of the Boston Public Garden. This was one of the only opportunities to take a picture of the duck unstraddled. The statues were mobbed with children, as usual!
Okay, so it's fall! Our heat came on accidentally the other day because we had the gauge set at 50. Watching the weather get cold doesn't really do it for me, but there are some good things about the transition. Like the waxy look of these leaves feathered over a metal fence.
Risotto for Christine! We enabled my friend Christine's first encounter with a brussel sprout this week and I think they're friends for life. The other part of the meal (Mushroom Risotto) was a hodge podge of other recipes I've tried, but I think a reduced amount of water, white wine, and overall longer cooking (we ate at 10 p.m.) made it more savory than usual.
Corn stalk up against a crisp blue sky. The weather this weekend was distinctly colder than it has yet been this fall. Although wrapped up in sweaters, we were pretty comfortable running around in the corn fields. A perfect weekend for hanging out on a farm.
Leaning out of one of the tented bridges at the Corn Maze of Davis' Farm in Sterling, MA, you can see a few of the tracks in the corn crop that are arranged in an enormous walkable maze. We drove out there with some friends on Saturday to see what all the fuss was about. Sadly, the maze got the better of us, and when we finally emerged through the exit, we were exhausted and guilt-ridden for deviously hopping over a few "Do Not Enter" signs in desperation. Many of the 5-year-olds fared better, but we couldn't imagine how parents managed to get through a day of this!
Close-up of a corn cob that had either been stripped apart or somehow grew misshapen this way. I actually think it's kind of beautiful like this - it reminds me of a honeycomb.
Here lies the lasagne that fed us for a week. I think we must have eaten it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but it was finally conquered last Thursday night. The cheeses are ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella, and they appear to make up most of the dish, although I swear there's meat and pasta in there too.